Our Story

What Hear For You is all about

Wondering how Hear For You began – and why?

Well it’s pretty simple really. Back in 2008, a very switched on lady named Olivia Andersen decided to use her personal experiences as a deaf person to make a difference to the lives of young people across Australia. Having been diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 8 months, Olivia definitely understood the challenges that deaf teenagers face, and she wanted to do something about it!

Joining forces with a team of like-minded people, Olivia founded Hear For You: a one-of-a-kind organisation devoted to supporting teenagers who are deaf and hard of hearing. Through our programs and events, deaf teenagers have the chance to connect with mentors who have ‘been there, done that’, and have lived to tell the tale!

Since starting out, Hear For You has grown to become a thriving not-for-profit charity.

As well as being registered under ACNC, we are now also a nationally registered NDIS provider. To date, we’ve run over 50 programs and workshops, helping equip over 500 teenagers with essential life and communication skills. Along with our full-time staff, we’ve been lucky to have the help of over 90 volunteers, including some of Australia’s best-known deaf young people. In 2013, we even won a National Disability Award for Excellence in Personal and Community Support.

At Hear For You, we want every teenager to understand that life’s there for the taking – and that being deaf or hard of hearing doesn’t have to stop them achieving their dreams! While we’ve helped many teenagers along their journeys, there are plenty more out there who may still need our help (even if they don’t know it yet). So as far as we’re concerned, the Hear For You journey has only just begun.

Curious about the people behind Hear For You? You can get to know them right here.

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